Run Rose, Run
by Whoviandeb
Summary: They were always running, but at least they ran together. The Doctor remembers the first time he met Rose Tyler.


I don't believe in destiny. The universe is mysterious and there are threads of life that are woven together for reasons I'll never understand, but destiny? That means it was all planned out. And if someone planned this out, I'd like to punch them in the face.

I remember being alone in the TARDIS. It was a new life, and it had been a smooth regeneration. I didn't care where I was going. I let the TARDIS guide me to wherever she wanted to go. At first, I ended up in places where there was nothing I could do – she took me to fixed points, natural or historical disasters. It felt like I was doing penance, so I didn't protest.

Then we landed in London, I wasn't too surprised. I think the TARDIS is an Anglophile. Long story short, there were some crazy readings and it was time to investigate. This cheered me up a bit – something to do. I found myself in a department store. I love department stores, so many things that no one actually needs all in one place. Well, this particular store didn't need killer mannequins.

I was too late to save the old gent. If these things were loose, I had to do something so that no one else was hurt. Damage control: best option, blow up the building. Maybe I'd get lucky and whoever was controlling the dummies hadn't set up relays anywhere else. I was getting set to head upstairs to rig the last of the explosives when I heard a scream. Great, another human gone and gotten in the way.

I ran down the hallway and opened the door. I grabbed the hand of the blonde woman – such an instinctive move, would have done it for anyone. Didn't know it would be the first of so many times, how could I?

"Run." Oh that word. I've said it countless times and countless ways. Danger follows me. Or perhaps I chase it? I do run a lot. But it's always better when I'm running with someone by my side, hand in hand. And her hand always meant the most.

We ended up in the elevator and she had loads of questions. She was smart. I could tell that right off. You can tell those things pretty quickly if you know what to look for, and it's not about education or upbringing. It's that spark of curiosity, that desire to see both the details and the bigger picture. She had it. But I didn't have time to chat. "Nice to meet you, Rose Tyler, now run for your life!"

Yes, run Rose. Run.

The building blew up nicely and I managed to not get too charred. Little did I know, Rose kept hold of that bloody arm. Why on earth did she bring it home? Humans and their mementos, I tell you. She told me later that she asked Mickey to dispose of it. That explains why it was still in her apartment. But if I think about it, I'm glad she kept the arm. I tracked the signals it was giving out to her doorstep. It led me back to her, thankfully.

Or should I be thankful? Knowing what I know now, feeling all the emotions surrounding my memories of her… my life would have been so much easier without her. She opened me up to so much hurt and yet healed me from so much pain. Humans can't always tell the difference between hurt and pain. Pain is an indicator of something wrong, but hurt is a result of the wear and tear of living a life. Yes, my life would have been easier without her. It would have also been shorter, less fun, and definitely not as sweet.

Rose. How do you escape the memory of a girl named after such a common Earth flower? Such a beautiful, exquisite flower… a flower I can't escape.

After disarming the arm (ha, love that!), she followed me as I made my way back to the TARDIS. Questions, so many questions. She wanted to know who I was, but how could I answer that if I didn't even know? I was old and worn. Everything about my past was now in shadow, because I had destroyed so much of it. So I told her about the revolving of the earth, something completely measurable but utterly undetectable to humans, something I feel each time I step onto this planet. And then I told her to forget me and go home.

Go home, Rose. Forget me.

I didn't think any more about her. Honestly, if I had learned anything from the past, it was that people (especially humans) are better off when I'm not around. I'm free wander the galaxy, saving the day or not saving the day, getting involved where I shouldn't and generally making bigger messes that I end up having to clean up. I used to bring people along with me, but it had been such a long time since I had travelled with a companion. That was before. This is after.

It was only when I bumped into her again with her plastic boyfriend – honestly now, am I the only one who thinks it strange that she didn't notice he was plastic? Sure, his personality didn't change all that much, but the hair was a dead giveaway. She must have been distracted. Oh Rose, even then you couldn't stop thinking about me, could you?

I took her to the TARDIS along with plastic Mickey's head. I will admit, I love the part where the human is confused – the "bigger on the inside", the freaking out over my not being human… it's the little things in life that give me joy.

We traced the signal to the London Eye. Okay, yes, I was a bit daft not to see it myself. I mean, how hard it that thing to miss, really? And then we ran. Hand in hand. I forgot for a moment everything and lost myself in that moment. That was what I loved about traveling with someone – that sense of adventure, the exhilaration of the moment. If it could always be like that…

She saved my life that night. For the record, I'd like to state that I'm sure I would have eventually done a thing and saved the world. But thanks to her, I didn't have to. My admiration for her was enough to overcome all the hesitations and excuses my mind kept coming up with. I was going to ask her to come along.

She said no. In all the years I've travelled, I've not had a lot of people refuse to join me. Most of the time I'm the one having to tell people they aren't wanted. But she stood there, Mickey the Idiot holding on to her legs, and she was trapped. She was trapped in that world of dead end jobs, worthless boyfriends, and boring routine. It made me sad, but who was I to argue. I got in the TARDIS and sailed away.

Or tried to. The TARDIS was being disagreeable. Nearly had a collision with a comet. I thought about Rose. I had been sure she'd want to travel to distant planets and see wonderful, impossible things. Why the hesitation? What was keeping her in London?

Then I remembered. Mom. I had met Rose's mom. Didn't like her much, but she was Rose's world. Rose wouldn't want to leave her mom alone for such a long time.

Time. I have all the time in the world…

So I went back – pinpoint landing to the moment after I had left. "Did I mention it also travels through time?"

That was enough. I could see it on her face. She had already regretted her decision – and the information I gave her was enough. She knew that she could have both worlds – adventure with me and family back home. It wasn't always that simple, of course, but that's another memory.

That was the beginning. If you want to call it destiny, I won't argue with you. I prefer thinking that she and I were threads woven together into the fabric of the universe. Everything that I've become since that day is because of her. At times it might seem like I've moved on, picked out other people to take her place, but that's a lie. There's a place in my heart (the right one, to be specific), that will be hers eternally. She carved her soul there – and it started on the day we first started to run.


End file.
